Taylor Swift Says It’s Important to Write About the ‘Extremely Good and Bad Times’

The 29-year-old singer discussed the personal process of writing a good pop song in an essay for Elle U.K. published Thursday.

Swift shared how music transports her to different memories, such as how "You Learn" by Alanis Morissette reminds her of healing after a bad breakup. She said she tries to evoke the same feeling in her own songs.

"I love writing songs because I love preserving memories, like putting a picture frame around a feeling you once had," the star wrote. "I like to use nostalgia as an inspiration when I'm writing songs for the same reason I like to take photographs. I like to be able to remember the extremely good and extremely bad times."

"I want to remember the color of the sweater, the temperature of the air, the creak of the floorboards, the time on the clock when your heart was stolen or shattered or healed or claimed forever," she said.

The "Getaway Car" singer said she embraces the challenge of capturing a memory while also creating a catchy tune.

"The fun challenge of writing a pop song is squeezing those evocative details into the catchiest melodic cadence you can possibly think of," Swift said. "I thrive on the challenge of sprinkling personal mementos and shreds of reality into a genre of music that is universally known for being, well, universal."

"I think these days, people are reaching out for connection and comfort in the music they listen to," she explained. "I think a lot of music loves want some biographical glimpse into the world of our narrator, a hole in the emotional walls people put up around themselves to survive."

Swift is known for writing songs about ex-boyfriends and past relationships. She last released the album Reputation in November 2017, and shared a photo of her cat Olivia on Wednesday in response to fan speculation she will soon release a new album.

"She just read all the theories," the singer captioned the post.
By Annie Martin, UPI.com